VOLUME # 101                ISSUE # 4                    September 2001
E-mail Address: VHFCInfo@aol.com

September Calendar

President’s Message

The Reef Fishing Event will occurring while this newsletter is in production. We'll give you an "event report" in the next newsletter.

We have no Financial, Tournament or Membership changes to report for the last month.

Sean Murphy's Presentation on Tackle Care and

Another "Good Show!" Once again Sean captured the attention of our members and gave us an excellent lecture on rod, reel and line maintenance. The follow-up discussions were packed with many good tips.

Fishing Reports

I seem to be thanking a lot of people lately. This time special thanks are directed at Anthony Pessolano and Bill Logan for the fishing/sea stories they provided for this issue of our News

August Fish of the Month:  Fluke

Hearty congratulations to Charlie Kochka who caught and weighed in an 8 lb. 4 0z. Fluke.

Fish of the Year Weigh-ins (As of 07/31/01) reported by George Fruh

A Fishing Report by Bill Logan

Saturday, August 4th, I went out to Little Egg Reef.  I had started out to go to Grassy Channel but made a left turn at the inlet thinking I would run out to the last marker and drift in since the tide was coming in. That never happened.  I just kept right on going until I got to Little Egg Reef.  I caught seven keepers and the biggest one was about 19".  I thought that was a good day.
Well, let me tell you about the next day, Sunday the 5th.  My oldest son, Bill JR., and a local fisherman, Gerry Dubeau (aka BIG WRENCH), went with me.  Gerry and Bill Jr. caught their biggest flukes ever.  Gerry's was 24" long and weighed 8.8lbs. and Bill Jr.'s 's was 22" long and weighed 6.5lbs. I  know this will sound like a fish story but I also hooked one that was bigger than both of theirs but I was using 10 to 12 lb. test line and it jumped over the net and came down so hard it snapped my line.  I said @!*# and @!!^$%@ and threw Gerry in after the fish since he was working the net.  All together we caught about 15 and had 6 keepers.  I have learned a lesson from our older members who started this club not to tell exactly where.  Thanks to my GPS and chart plotter it was in the exact same spot both days.

A Fishing Story by Anthony Pessolano:

First from the bottom. 
On August 8th a small group of scuba divers embarked on a dive trip aboard the Jersey Devil sailing from Barnegat Light. The day was deceptively nice on the surface as we made way toward the Magnolia. As we all knew, the prior two days had brought high seas in the 8 to 12 foot range and while the surface had laid down considerably, it was the bottom we were concerned about. 
As an aside, some members may recognize the Magnolia as the San Saba and would be more correct in referring to her by that name. Actually before she was renamed San Saba around 1915, she was originally christened the Colorado in 1879. As the Colorado she was severely damaged in a hurricane off Florida in 1893. Then, in 1896, she collided with a barge and had to be beached to avoid sinking. In 1904 fireman had to cut holes in the deck to put out a fire. In 1913 she ran aground and she caught fire again in 1915 and burned so badly she had to be abandoned at sea. Once she was rebuilt, she was renamed San Saba. Unfortunately her luck did not improve much once she was renamed. In 1918 she struck a mine that was laid by U-117, and was sunk forever. 
So why is she often referred to as the Magnolia? Well, because divers discovered crates of Babbitt bars near the wreck. The bars were used as a lubricant in ships of the day. And those bars were stamped, "Magnolia Antifriction Metal," hence the dual reference as the Magnolia.
Back to the dive. Well, our most serious concerns were realized once we reached the wreck. The currents on the bottom were as severe as any I have experienced diving these wrecks. While this is normally a great wreck to dive on, it can be especially dangerous in those kind of conditions due to the amount of steel protruding from the wreck. 
In terms of the fish however, go fish it! There was a great deal of life on the wreck, lobster, ling, sea bass and some nice size blackfish. You will have to put up with the hundreds of bergals, but persistence will pay off. And don't forget the advice we got at August club meeting: use a separate loop of thin mono on your sinkers; you will get snagged on this wreck!
The stern is located at 26853.2 and 43240.6 and the bow is at 26853.8 and 43239.5. Look carefully as the profile is low in many areas, but you should be able to grab the wreck fairly easily. Tight Lines.
Capt. Anthony.

A 2nd Fishing Story by Anthony Pessolano

Now from the Top:
On August 8 my fishing partner Al Stella and I headed for the 40 fathom lumps where we'd heard of some tuna action in the prior days. Once again we found out quickly that the 1-2 foot seas called for by the National Weather Service were more like 3-5. We ran on the starboard quarter the 55 miles out of Little Egg on about a 137.9 degree heading. No real problem, just a little slower than we planned, but still an overall nice ride out. We had lines in the water by around 8:30 AM and worked the area hard. We covered 4 lumps and one of the wrecks in the area without so much as a knockdown. The bottom looked great, the water temperature was right, but while we heard one other boat talk about a pod of whales and some dolphin he passed on the way out, there was almost no life that we could see. Around 1:00 PM we decided to head to the Lindenkohl. We put the spread back in the water around 2:00 and began to work the edges of the various walls right on the edge of the canyon near some lobster markers. A boat nearby had boated a bull dolphin which, for us, sounded very good at that point! 
In almost no time we had a hit to the outside starboard long rigger on a black/red bullet head turbine. After an intense run as we tried to put the breaks on the fish, he broke off. A little while later, another hit, this time on the outside long rigger on the port side on a green machine. This time we got the tuna to the boat, only to have him run under the boat and break off again! (I told myself at that moment that I needed to do a better job checking the terminal end of my gear before I leave the dock next time.) 
Then, at 2:30 the line furthest back in the shotgun position went off. This time the tuna hit a new spreader bar I was running for the first time that has a bird built right into the bar itself, a really great design that looks terrific behind the boat. Well, after a spirited fight we had a 50+ pound longfin in the box. Out went the lines again and after we traced the last hit, we were hooked up again on the same line. Tuna number two was in the box and I noticed some ominous looking clouds on the radar and we started to head for the dock.
About 20 miles from the inlet the picture on the radar was really building up and I thought we should move toward Barnegat. Within what seemed like minutes all hell broke loose! We were right in the middle of 50-55 MPH winds and freezing driving rain with severe lightening all around us. There was not much we could do at that point except point the bow into the storm and ride this thing out. While the rain and wind were manageable it was the intimacy
with the lightening that was our primary concern. 
Well, we rode the storm out for what seemed like an eternity. Once we broke through, there was plenty of dark clouds still visible on the radar, but the seas had laid down and we put She's a Keeper on the pins and ran like the devil himself for the inlet.
We managed to avoid any more excitement and got back to the dock about 7:45 that evening. Wet and tired but with over 100 pounds of fresh Charlie in the box!
Till next time. Tight Lines
Capt. Anthony

VHFC Surf Fishing Tournament - Saturday October 20, 2001

This Surf Tournament is planned to be a VHFC learning and teaching surf fishing event (new to some of our members, familiar to others). Participation in this Surf Tournament is planned for current members only.
Chairman: Steve Cook (978-8416) is back again as the VHFC Surf Tournament Chairman for 2001. If you are in a hurry and can't find Steve, he is being assisted by John Nonnenmacher, Paul Turi and Dick Vesper (494-0263). 
Fishing Location: We will be fishing the surf on Long Beach Island at a location to be announced in the October Newsletter and at the October meeting. 
Gear, Clothes, Bait: During the 12 October Membership Meeting, we will be reviewing what you should bring to surf fish.

Club Discounts